dogs

How cute is he? And how equally strange is that title? Well, we had an interesting night last night. It started off like any other night with dinner at our fav pho place and a trip to Target (who else goes multiple times a week? I digress…). We were just getting home when our friends call to say they found this cute little guy chasing cars and after an exhaustive search, were unable to locate his family. I was thinking “sad story… what do you want me to do?” like any semi-reasonable person when my friend asked me to watch him and help find his family. That’s when it all clicked.

You see, I’ve been a little down on myself lately because I’ve been feeling like I’m not setting and achieving enough goals. I was bathed in the waters of Franklin Covey and 7 Habits and was truly converted. But like with most things, after a while your conviction can fade and mine was no exception. But then this dog.

You may remember back on my birthday last year I wrote a list of 30 goals before 30 and one of them was to foster a dog. I thought that this would be an easy one considering my friend runs a rescue and Austin is a no-kill city but heavens, the timing was always off. It was not for lack of trying, believe me(!), but I felt like life was constantly in the way and sending me the same message my husband was: Not now! That can be incredibly frustrating when you’re trying to achieve a goal that you feel like is a worthy and fairly selfless act.

So last night, after much cajoling and eventual husband acquiescing, this little guy came to stay and play with us. I wish I had videoed him because he has the most adorable little gait and walks like a little gentleman. This is where the whole Gaylord thing comes in. We couldn’t not give him some sort of name and after scrolling through other fancy British sounding names, he somewhat responded to Gaylord and it stuck. I’d like to say that it was all sunshine and roses but there was crying on his part and a slight allergy attack on mine. Thankfully we both made it and I awoke from my allergy med-induced sleep to texts and calls from his owner.

All the coughing and watery eyes were worth it because watching Gaylord (whose real name is Perry) see his owner again was the closest I’ve ever come to witnessing one of those touching reunification stories you see on Hallmark movies. Definitely my feel-good moment for the week. And selfishly, it feels like I can cross off “fostering a dog” from my list. It might not be considered fostering 100% but I feel like this was the universe lobbing me a slow pitch, letting me get an easy hit. And because my friends (and Google) are so awesome and it fit in so well with my baseball analogy, I feel like I have to share with you that there is actually a Hall of Famer named Gaylord Perry. He was a renowned cheater but let’s save that story for another day and keep our eye on the ball, er story.

So there’s my story on how being open and ready to help can also help you. It’s totally a cheesy trope but they exist for a reason, right? And getting to call an adorable little animal Gaylord was hilarious and almost as satisfying as completing one of my goals.

While I’m still finding my bearings in the new place and trying to begin the process of unpacking, I thought I’d jump online and chat about two things I love: Dogs and Decor. I’m mildly obsessed with my pup (and pretty much all dogs) and I’ve always loved the idea of having a few canine related pieces in my home. Usually when I (and most people) think of dog art and decor, I think of cheesy posters with sayings like “Wipe yer paws” or “Dog lives here” or something like that. But since moving into the new place, I see all of this empty wall space that’s screaming for some beautiful art or shelving that could use some pretty styling pieces and I’ve thought that I could definitely stand to have more canine inspiration. There’s actually a lot of pretty stuff out there if you know where to look. So I thought I’d share with you all some of my favorite finds.

So we’re pretty much in agreement at this point that dog decor can be pretty, modern, or even very sophisticated, right? I think that I need that first watercolor sketch for my office (which you can find here, by the way). So, am I crazy for wanting some more canine inspiration? Are you a dog person as well, or do you prefer feline friends?

Today we’re going to talk about everyone’s favorite topic: puppies. Well, young puppies and older puppies (commonly known as dogs). I love dogs. I am solidly a dog person and most of my friends and loved ones are as well because dogs are pretty much the best. You know who else is the best? People who rescue dogs. You guys, the stats out there on homeless pets are terrifyingly awful. I’ll spare you from most of the details except this one: Over 2.7 million dogs and cats are euthanized each year. EACH YEAR. Guys, that is a crazy number of furry souls dying before their time. But back to rescues- these people are saints.

One saint that I know and love is Allison Allred who started This One Starfish, a non-profit that rescues dogs from death and helps them find their forever home. She is just one of many who devotes insane amounts of time, money, gas, and love to dogs who have been abandoned and forgotten. They spend so much of their personal resources helping dogs they know they won’t keep, which to me feels incredibly selfless and amazing. When they say that all dogs go to heaven, they forgot to include the people who rescue dogs, because those people certainly do as well.

So by this point I’m sure you’re thinking how you want to help or get involved. Natch. I asked This One Starfish what they would recommend to someone wanting to help and this is what they said:

Dog rescue is kind of like holding a bucket under a running sink to catch the water. It’s a good temporary solution but the only permanent fix is to get the water turned off. We can keep pulling dogs out of shelters and busting puppy mills, but the shelters will keep filling up. One way that we can start to turn the sink off is educating the public about the reality of dog shelters. Most dog shelters are not shelters at all. After a few days or sometimes only a few hours the dogs are euthanized. In the best case an adopter shows up to pull the dog before they reach the top of the kill list, but usually the dogs die. People need to educate themselves on these realities and learn the alternatives to dropping dogs in shelters. There are so so many people willing to foster so if you find a dog contact a local rescue first and consider fostering until an adopter surfaces. Even if you can only foster for one night, keeping these dogs out of shelters will save their lives. Another way people can help is by sharing our Facebook posts am following/ retweeting out Twitter page. These shares help us spread the word about our mission and make it possible for us to quickly get dogs out of shelters and find forever families.